Apple Bloom sat down by the river bed, staring at her reflection in the shimmering water. The sunshine and chirping birds were a big tonal difference from how she was feeling.
Maybe if she had paid more attention to their surroundings? No, even if she knew exactly where they were going to pop out, she still didn't know the saibamen would decide on Goten to be the kill of the day. She didn't like it, but no matter what way she reasoned, she could have done nothing to save her now deceased crush; if she had been strong enough to break her icy restraints, though, maybe it would've been a different story.
She checked back over to where Goku stood, several feet away; he was facing away from the group and looking like he was talking to the sky. Trunks sat even further away; he was seemingly meditating. His eyes were shut, his arms crossed, and he was sitting indian style on the lush grass which covered the small field they occupied.
Vegeta had taken Gohan back to Mt. Paus to heal up his ankle. They'd tried to get more senzu beans from Korrin, but apparently, senzu beans took awhile to grow. That really hit a sour note for her as well, because she was still sore from the beating she had taken from Izotz. At least her cut had finally dried up.
Speaking of Vegeta, she had learned something about him from what she had heard him say to Trunks in the ice museum.
"You look a man in the eyes when you kill him! Where is your sense of honor, Trunks Briefs?!"
Honor; that word coming from Vegeta's mouth was...strangely fitting. Even though he dressed like a biker who had just totaled his ride, he did seem to carry that air of nobility around him. The other point worth noting was he said to look men in the eyes when killing them; that was a mighty courteous thing to do in a battle. Apple Bloom, should she be forced to kill someone, would probably take any advantage she could get, even blindsiding somepony.
But not Vegeta; even when they had sparred back on Mt. Paus, Vegeta had not kicked her while she was down, and had warned her of the coming end of the match when he forgot the no-blasts rule. He really was an honorable saiyan, and she supposed that helped his image in her eyes a bit.
Goku walked back over to the yellow mare, and sat beside her on the creek. His face was a little serious, but still held that "Goku-charm."
"Apple Bloom," He started. "I think it would be much too dangerous to have you with us while we're searching for the Dragon Balls."
Apple Bloom blinked in surprise. "But...I'm supposed to train with y'all, aren't I? That's the whole reason I came here!"
Goku nodded. "And you will, but even though you seem to have some hidden potential without a body like ours, you're still not able to fully harness it yet. If you were to die before we got all seven, it would get a little more complicated; since you technically aren't a warrior, you wouldn't be able to keep your body in the afterlife, and therefore, couldn't train while we gathered the Dragon Balls to revive you. You'd come back only as strong as you are now, if not weaker."
Back the buck up a bit. Had Goku just said, revived? As in, bring back from death? Also, keep her body in the afterlife? This one statement caused so many questions to swirl around in the shocked pony's head.
Goku must have noticed her confusion and sudden distress, because he placed his hand on her head the same way he had when they first met.
"This will be easier than explaining." He said.
Apple Bloom's mind flooded with images of the Dragon Balls and all the things they were capable of. Granting great wealth, good health, even immortality. The biggest one was the ability to bring back the dead; but from what the info she was receiving told her, only those who had died of natural causes could be wished back to the living world. There was so much information, her head actually started aching.
Goku removed his hand, and waited for Apple Bloom's explosive response.
Explosive it was, as the southern yellow mare leaped into the air; joy, shock, excitement...all of it and more dancing in her eyes. The Dragon Balls were amazing. It was then her head was struck with an idea.
"If anyone anywhere dies an unnatural death, can they be revived?" She asked.
"Well that depends on what anywhere means to you." Goku answered.
She stood up, trying to think of a way to word this. "Like back in my home dimension, Equestria. Do y'all think I could wish my family and my lost friend back?"
Goku stood up himself, brushing some grass off his tan pants. "I'm not sure. We'll have to ask Shenron when we summon him."
Apple Bloom was about to cry the happiest tears ever. Not only would Goten be ok, but maybe, just maybe, AppleJack, Big Mac, and Sweetie Belle could come back too. She started to bounce around like a little school filly, until the pain in her legs brought her crashing back down to reality.
She stood up again, slowly this time, and turned towards Goku. "So, in the meantime, while y'all are searchin' for the Dragon Balls, what am I gonna do?"
Goku smiled widely, a big grin that warmed the whole area round him. "You're gonna train with Goten of course."
"Huh, but he's dead, and we don't have all seven Dragon Balls...how am I gonna.."
"Just hang on." He said, placing two fingers to his forehead and gently grabbing Apple Bloom's hoof. There was a woosh sound and suddenly Apple Bloom felt as though she were flying at a billion miles an hour. Her body vibrated awfully, and some invisible force that didn't quite feel like wind pressed against her body. She felt as though she were being thrown around in a rocket-ship.
When the sensation halted, Apple Bloom tried to stand up, and immediately, she was pulled back down to the grass hard.
"What---what the hay?" She managed, trying again, but failing.
She saw Goku walking towards a small house not to much more than several feet away from her. It was a dome shaped structure with a few open windows and a garage attached. The yellow and white colors looked very grandparent-ish.
She called out for Goku to come and save her from whatever invisible monster was holding her to the ground, and when the saiyan turned around, he looked like he'd forgotten to mention something important.
"Oops!" He exclaimed. "Sorry, the gravity on King Kai's planet is about ten times stronger than Earth's. It's gonna be tough to get used to it."
Ten times Earth's gravity? That was ridiculous. How in Celestia's name was she going to be able to move around under this much pressure; she could barely crawl across the ground, and it wasn't exactly doing wonders for her sore muscles.
Goku walked into King Kai's house completely unobstructed by the gravity.
"Hey, King Kai!" He greeted the rotund and short blue kai. "How's it goin'?"
King Kai turned around, a pair of oven mitts on as he was preparing some kind of dish; his long antennae standing upright for a second.
"Oh, hello, Goku." King Kai greeted, moving to remove his meal from the oven. "Boy, that Instant Transmission sure is becoming second-nature to your walking and flying, eh? Pretty soon, you'll be teleporting around your house to grab a snack."
The stout kai burst into a small fit of laughter at his own little joke. When he calmed himself, he looked outside to see the yellow pony with the pink ribbon in her red mane struggling to even move. He turned to Goku, a bit of disbelief on his face that could be read even while he was wearing his black, round shades.
"This is the Apple Bloom that has the amazingly strong power level hidden in her?" He asked, sounding unsure.
"Yup, that's her."Goku confirmed.
After another moment of watching her struggle to stand, King Kai spoke again.
"She doesn't look like much, but I guess looks can be deceiving."
"Trust me," Goku told him confidently. "she's a strong one. She just needs to be refined and sharpened in her skills to bring out her power. Can't you sense it within her, King Kai?"
King Kai nodded, putting his hands behind his back. "I can sense it alright, the question is, will she ever be able to unlock it?"
"With your training, she'll definitely be one step closer." The saiyan replied.
"I'm not so sure..." King Kai mused, putting a hand to his chin in thought.
Goku blinked. Surely King Kai could see the potential she had. "What do you mean?"
King Kai looked as though he were recalling a very old memory. When he finally turned to Goku, he spoke.
"In my extremely long lifetime, I've only ever trained two ponies from her dimension; and they were not mere earth ponies like Apple Bloom is."
Goku shook his head in disbelief. King Kai already knew these ponies existed, and had even trained two of them?
King Kai took note of Goku's shock, and began to explain before telling he rest of his story.
"Do you remember when you fought Lord Beerus years ago that he told you there were twelve different dimensions in the multiverse?" The kai asked his pupil.
Goku did remember the god saying that, and even mentioning his mentor, Whis, was from one of those others. "So, long shot here, but are the two ponies you trained...gods like Beerus as well?"
King Kai smiled a bit. "Not in a strict sense, no, but they are immortal and have amazing powers. The term for them is alicorn, which means they have traits of all three pony races; unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies. The ponies of Equestria see them as deities, but they're more like demi-gods than full blown gods, like Lord Beerus. Their tempers are a lot better in check as well..."
Goku nodded, completely enthralled by King Kai's explanation so far.
"Anyway," he continued. "the two of them came here a long time ago. I'd say it's been close to two-thousand years now. They were much older than young Apple Bloom out there, and very majestic and beautiful creatures. Their world was being threatened by an evil king unicorn, who's heart was as black as night; their armies were powerless to stop his conquest, so the sisters came to me, hearing of my teachings through hearsay and folklore."
King Kai too a moment to take a drink from his lemonade he had put out with his dinner; it's sweet, yet sour taste making his mouth pucker a bit.
"The taller one, a white alicorn, was very polite and had a great sense of humor as well. The younger one, who was a dark blue alicorn, was more...brash. She thought my methods were pointless, and for awhile didn't participate with her older sister doing them."
He giggled a bit, remembering how Piccolo had done the same when he and the Z Fighters came to train with him. The two would probably get along really well, he thought.
"One she warmed up to them, and the real training began, they showed impressive skill in battle, and even more impressive power as they days went on. When they mastered the Kaioken and Spirit Bomb techniques that taught you, they returned to their home dimension to take on the evil king."
Goku looked like a young child listening to a bedtime story. "What happened next? Did they beat the evil king?!"
King Kai snorted, taking a bite from his meatloaf. "Of course they did. Well, somewhat; the spirit of the king returned sometime later, and the sisters' pupil had to take care of it, but in essence, yes. They did defeat the evil king. I only know this though because they come and visit me sometimes with news. I can't see into their dimension, myself."
"Wow." Goku breathed out. "These ponies sound super strong! I'd love to fight them one day!"
"They're not much for fighting unless they have to, Goku. I doubt you'd even get a sparring match. Well, maybe from the younger sister, but definitely not the older one."
After a brief silence, King Kai's antennae sprung up. He then smiled, wiping his mouth with a cloth before standing up.
"Looks like he's here." the kai informed.
Apple Bloom had finally managed to stand up in the intense gravity of King Kai's tiny planet. Her legs still burned from the effort, but she was not going to let a chunk of floating rock beat her when she had training to do. She found herself thinking about the training though. Goku had said Goten would be training with her, but she didn't see him anywhere; Goku must have just meant some spiritual mumbo jumbo or something.
Her face fell at this thought, but then her ears flicked upward at the sound of someone landing on the grass. Her ears perked straighter up and her smile came back full force when she heard the voice.
"Hey, Apple Bloom! Looks like we'll be training together!" Goten exclaimed excitedly.